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March 2011 
"Je me souviens..."While I traveled recently in Quebec with a group of friends, I wondered what is written on the license plates of vehicles, which appears as a motto. "Je me souviens" The day before our return, a violent snowstorm led us to take refuge in notorious buildings. The first was the Museum of Civilization, and then we visited the Parliament of Quebec. Thus was given to us to learn the difficult history of the "beautiful province" and to understand the philosophy that the Québécois have built, that they have embodied in the motto: "Je me souviens..." I remember the intelligence of Jean François, an official of the protocol who made us visit Parliament. I remember his description of the history and of functioning of the institutions. I remember her description of the armchair of the president of the assembly similar to a throne, and behind the dais surmounted by the British crown, the different symbols that mark the history of the province, between an Irish harp, a Scottish salamander and a British Lion (legacy of William the Conqueror), the Quebec coat of arms superimposes the lilies of the first period of the kingdom of France, the Lion of the period of the Kingdom of England, above the maple leaf as Canadian symbol. I remember his astonishment when finally we asked him the question he expected: below this shield, why is he hanging a crucifix? Is he not, since the late sixties of the last century, an effective separation between church and state in Canada? Why the Christian faith is privileged here ? Do not be fooled by appearances. This crucifix was placed by Maurice Duplessis Noblet, Premier of Quebec between 1956 and 1959, a conservative right government whose power was overthrown by the "quiet revolution" of 1960 to 1966. This crucifix was nevertheless maintained, and still is, following a succession of near unanimous parliamentary vote in favor of keeping it, whatever the party in power, "not as a religious symbol, but a symbol for the memory of a Conservative government mode of which Quebec no longer wants to suffer the reactionary character ". I remember envied wisdom of Quebecers. Je me souviens...Back in France, like Georges Perec, I remember... of the the testimony, on Friday, March 11, 2011, of Frederick Charles, correspondent for Radio France on the first vertical oscillations of the huge earthquake that struck Japan. I remember that it evoked me the time I was studying new seismic devices for nuclear installations: I remember those we had designed to address as well vertical movements as horizontal ones. I remember that they were rejected: I remember Expert explaining that earthquakes give only horizontal oscillations... Je me souviens...of the reactors in 1975 of which I studied the design of emergency cooling systems, for reactors that were intended to Saint Laurent des Eaux sites on the Loire and to Kaiseraugst, near Basel in Switzerland. They were the same type as those in Fukushima, north of Tokyo. I remember the Rasmussen report, which assessed the risk probabilities of accidents, on which the safety criteria of reactors were based. Je me souviens...I remember of the boiling water reactors, control rods control mechanisms were located under the reactor vessel, and in case of an emergency stop, the pressure of the water in the reactor pushes up the bars in the heart in order to stop the chain reaction. I remember of these amazing mechanisms invented and tested by General Electric engineers to ensure that this rise will actually happen at the right time, without risk of any bar drop. Je me souviens...I remember that we envisage not that the "emergency core cooling systems" might be inadequate to prevent melting of the fuel elements. Je me souviens...I remember I was in charge of the study of the system of "poison injection in reactor" whose role was, in case of accident, to inject a load of boric acid solution in the heart of the reactor via two high pressure displacement pumps, through two membrane valves open by explosives. Je me souviens...I remember the need of constantly maintained hot the boric acid solution, to avoid crystallization, by means of electrical resistances. I remember that in the EDF nomenclature, the naming acronym of this system was RIP. Je me souviens...I remember that in private engineering firms where I worked, we were young. I remember that we had forged a great expertise. I remember our concern for the quality of our work. I remember our design procedures, subject to uncompromising requirements. I remember that when the power plants were completed, most of us have evolved, without being replaced, toward other activities and have kept their expertise for themselves in retirement. Je me souviens...I remember of the melt of the heart of a reactor, in March 1979, at Three Mile Island, Je me souviens...I remember this horrible phenomenon to which have faced the control room operators, which has been ironically named "Christmas tree": all alarms were lit! I remember that for this reason they were unable to understand the actual phenomena in the reactor. Je me souviens...I remember the fear of the explosion following a release of hydrogen in the tank of the reactor, that may result of chemical reactions caused by overheating of the fuel elements dewatered following the failure of injection of water into the reactor. Je me souviens...I remember that at Three Mile Island, the explosion was avoided, that even if the accident were more serious than anything imagined, had not had serious radiological consequences for the environment. Je me souviens...I remember that following the accident, in France, all operating procedures in case of accidents had been studied and redesigned on a approach by process status, formalized by a set of graphics boards, placed and sealed in every control room of nuclear power plants. I remember that today in France, the operators are regularly trained to face these situations, using driving simulators, for normal and accident events. Je me souviens...I remember that the engineering company that employed me estimated the cost of the maximum annual dose of a nuclear worker to the value of his annual salary. Later, I learned that agency workers who are receiving this dose are laid off. Je me souviens...I remember that when it was announced that the first Fukushima reactor was in overpressure, I had a moment of doubt about the achieve of emergency stop, I feared that some bars have remained stuck. Je me souviens...I remember that following the voluntary depressurization of the reactor, when the roof of the building was carried off by a hydrogen explosion, I deduced that the heart of the reactor had begun to melt, as a result of oxidation chemical reactions of zirconium fuel assemblies at high temperatures. Zr + H2O → H2 + ZrO2 + cal I remember that these exothermic reactions contribute to fusion process of fuel elements. Je me souviens...I remember of the constant concern that are the marine diesel engines, whose power plants are equipped to ensure the minimum power necessary for the operation of backup systems. I remember that to ensure their role, these engines are started by means of a powerful compressed air discharge. I remember that during periodic testing, that does not always work. Je me souviens...I learned that without sufficient reserves of borated water for cooling and without an emergency power source for its auxiliary systems, any reactor inevitably evolves into a major accident. Je me souviens...I remember that the obsession of "common mode failure" that can only parry a costly diversification of the design of all safety means. I remember that the first flight of Ariane 5 was a victim of a "common mode failure". I remember that quality that involves the effect of series and the frequency of periodic tests are another means chosen to eliminate such risk. But I remember that any accident of external origin may cause a common mode failure. Je me souviens...I remember that in the seventies, I have contributed to the design of command and control systems of Doel3 and Tihange2 nuclear plants, in Belgium. I remember that the Belgian nuclear safety rules have required a system called "Ultimate Rescue". I remember that this original system was designed to counter the consequences of an accident of external origin, such as the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan. I remember that we had to design this system to be able to maintain the reactor in a safe shutdown state for ten hours, without any human intervention. I remember that for this system we doubled all measurements of thermal-hydraulic characteristics of the reactor, and that we designed a second independent set of backup circuits protected in a bunker. Je me souviens...I remember that the whole design of control-command seemed made to stop the reactor, so sometimes we have doubted that these nuclear plants may one day produce any kilowatt of electricity. Je me souviens...I have read in 2008 that despite all this the rate (Kd) of availability of these plants was high, especially better than the French plants. Je me souviens...I remember, was it in 1977 or 1978? years ago... So I remember a joke I made on April 1, managing to make believe for a day to the company that employed me, that EDF would ask that the we review the design of all its nuclear plants in order to introduce a similar system ultimate rescue. I remember the hidden and embarrassed fury, of the engineers who had set up a crisis unit to examine this plausible situation until they caught sight of the date... Je me souviens...I remember that I have contributed to the invention of a "lowered height" fuel storage building, screened, tested for high earthquakes. the conventional conceptions of narrow and high nuclear fuel storage building of our plants are not designed against such events. I remember it had been patented, with its cooling system and treatment that I designed. I remember that safety requirements remaining laxist, it has never been realized. Je me souviens...I remember that I studied the long-term accidental procedure after an accident on a PWR. I remember that our contractual clauses did not require it, and so it were not disclosed. I remember the architecture of the oldest French units built at Fessenheim that did not allow to apply the procedure. Je me souviens...I remember that, on April 1986, Professor Pellerin had affirmed that the radioactive cloud from the explosion of the Chernobyl reactor had not crossed the French border. Je me souviens...I remember that the terminology of nuclear engineering distinguishes the words "security" and "safety". I remember the first concerns only the employees while the second concerns all citizens, and that professional ethics is that the former is subordinate to the latter. Je me souviens...I remember that unlike the American jurisprudence, some parts of "safety reports" of French nuclear plants was confidential, inaccessible to actually concerned citizens. Je me souviens...I remember of this day in 1982 when I joined as an engineer and researcher at Electricité de France. I remember what Daniel Carton said to me, when he received me in his division, on public service ethics expected of its researchers, like of all EDF agent. I remember that for him, the enterprise's economic reasons must be subservient to the demands of its purpose, which are to serve the vital energy needs of the national community, and if necessary of its neighboring countries. I remember the spirit of solidarity and excellence that prevailed in the staff of this company. I also remember the guilt he felt when creating imposed of the French program of nuclear power. Je me souviens...I remember that the rules of the European Community had led to privatize this public service, which then had created a Communications Department. I remember the duty that it assigns me to submit what I may say to her permission, but only for the part of my life that I spend in this great company... Je me souviens...to follow, "Fessenheim, Bugey".
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